


kiss in the kitchen like it's the dance floor

by svladcjelli



Series: pick my colour pick my day (Modern AU) [1]
Category: 1917 (Movie 2019)
Genre: ADHD Tom Blake, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Autistic William Schofield, Domestic Bliss, Domestic Fluff, Living Together, M/M, a bit of hurt/comfort, it isnt outright said but, its certainly there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:27:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24365785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/svladcjelli/pseuds/svladcjelli
Summary: A night on the town doesn't go as smoothly as expcted.
Relationships: Tom Blake & William Schofield, Tom Blake/William Schofield
Series: pick my colour pick my day (Modern AU) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1759222
Comments: 16
Kudos: 58





	kiss in the kitchen like it's the dance floor

**Author's Note:**

> hello!!!!! welcome back to projection town where i just,, project for 2k words. anyway, title is from "sunflower vol 6" by harry styles!! the one artist i swore to never use a title after,, oh how the turntables. hope you enjoy!! (ps i wrote another autistic will fic a bit ago called “if we keep quiet we’ll be safe” so feel free to check it out!!!)

Waking up in Tom Blake's flat wasn't uncommon, but it was certainly different to wake up next to Tom three days in a row. 

After a month of planning and somewhat poor organizing, Will had finally moved in with Tom and it was easily one of the best decisions he had ever made. 

Tom worked as an art teacher at a secondary school in South Bank while Will was still studying to be a pastry chef. He had been living with his sister and nieces up until Tom had suggested they start living together- an idea Will happily agreed to. The process of moving was mildly stressful but the payoff of seeing Tom's sleeping body next to his was more than he could ever ask for. 

It was a Saturday, their first weekend of sharing a flat together. Will didn't have to attend classes and Tom didn't have to teach classes, thus leaving them to bask in the early hours of the morning relatively stress-free. 

_Relatively._

Will didn't know the time, but the sun had barely risen when Myrtle started barking at the door as if someone was trying to break in. Will immediately brought his hands up to cover his ears, to shield himself from the noise as he had just woken up and it was far too early to deal with the accompanying pain that Myrtle's clamor brought on. 

Next to him, he heard the muffled sound of Tom groan. From annoyance or heavy tiredness of first waking up, Will couldn't tell. 

"Must be the postman, then. She always does get excited to see him." 

Tom sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed as Will was finally able to lower his hands. Myrtle's calls were finally becoming less frequent, coming to a full stop the moment she saw Tom awake. She immediately knew Tom was going to provide breakfast and she made sure he wouldn't forget by trailing along by his side until he fetched her bowl. 

Something told Tom it was going to be a long day. He _knew_ Will, he could tell when he was getting overwhelmed and unfortunately, that nearly happened. He continued to have hope though, he thought as he scooped food into Myrtle's bowl, because they made plans for that evening.

They were going to go to River Thames to have a picnic by the water, something they haven't done in ages. School had enveloped a lot of Will's time and Tom was busy with grading assignments, all while Will was trying to move in. Of course, they were in each other's physical presence but at the same time it felt like they hadn't been truly together for a while. 

In their bedroom, Will swung his legs over the edge of the bed. _8:07_ the clock read and he frowned- It wasn't the best feeling to be woken at eight in the morning on a weekend by your boyfriend's dog.

"I'm makin' pancakes for breakfast! Oh shit- fuck, that one's a bit burnt." He heard said boyfriend call from the kitchen. 

Will's frown was replaced with a smile. When he made his way to the kitchen, he found Tom struggling to flip pancakes while Myrtle was lapping up whatever crumbs he had spilled on the floor. 

Will laughed softly, "I can get that for you, love. How 'bout you put the kettle on?" 

Tom looked at him like he hadn't even seen him come in but still mumbled a 'thank Christ' under his breath as he let Will take over what was in the pan. Tom filled the kettle before calling Myrtle out of the kitchen leaving Will to finish making breakfast. 

How lucky he was, Will thought, to be living with Tom and Myrtle. But he couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt because God, it was hard to be away from Rose, Helen, and Charlotte because that's all he'd even known. It wasn't like they lived far from his sister's home nor was it the fact that he missed her, it was the subtle differences in his schedule that affected him the most. He no longer had to help Charlotte with her homework when she came back from school or trying to braid Helen's hair while Rose was off to work. The change of pace was different but not particularly welcomed (yet). 

He wasn't used to the amount of change that was happening around him, but for Tom he would try. 

The kettle sounded and Tom tossed tea bags into two mugs before pouring the boiling water in. Two sugars for himself and one for Will, just like always. 

"Sorry 'bout Myrtle this morning, she does this nearly every week. She's silly like that." 

Will set plates on the table before sitting one of the wooden chairs, the same one he always sat in- but it wasn't like the chairs at Rose's house that he would spend his mornings in. 

"It's no problem, she's just bein' herself." 

Tom set down both cups of tea, one in front of Will and one in front of himself just before sitting in the chair opposite from Will. It was calming- peaceful, even. 

"Y'know, last week Joe told me this real funny story..." 

Will nodded and spent the rest of the morning listening to Tom waffle on, something that Will could see himself doing for the rest of his days. 

The afternoon was spent baking currant scones. Tom wasn't the best at baking, so much of the process was left to Will but Tom still helped out where he could. Measuring flour and cutting up butter was something he could pride himself in, he found. 

The scones were in the oven and the dirty dishes were in the sink. Myrtle was sleeping on the floor near the kitchen counter while Tom and Will sat on the sofa together in front of the television that was playing _EastEnders._ They didn't care for it, though, instead using the programme like background noise. Tom was recalling a time when he had made a cake- or tried to, at least. 

"So I take it out of the oven, yeah?" 

Will traced his hands over the rings on Tom's fingers- a habit he had picked up long ago. It was soothing, he found. Ironically, Tom frequently did the same- one hand always crept to the other to fidget with his own rings. Something about the subtlety of shared habits made Will's chest feel warm. "Mm."

"And the entire top is fuckin' black- completely charred! So Lauri's tellin' me to check the inside and the middle is still liquid, can't eat that. Turns out we had the oven set to 'broil' the whole time!" He was making the hand gestures the whole time he was speaking, another small trait Will found endearing. 

Will huffed a soft laugh, "Oh yeah? What'd you do with it, then?" 

"Whaddya mean? Tossed it, obviously- Did you expect me to eat it?" Tom laughed, "The batter did taste nice, though." 

In turn, Will giggled and shook his empty hand about, a clear display of his happiness. He did that a lot around Tom, both of them began to notice. Tom _adored_ it- the way he could make Will happy enough to physically express it. 

And then the timer rung. It made Will flinch and the sound seemed to reverberate in his ears, causing an indescribable pain. Tom must've felt Will tense for he stood up instead, "I've got it, dear."

Tom immediately stopped the ringing of the timer and Will was able to let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. From the kitchen, he heard Tom pop open the oven door. 

"Scho! They look so good! This is gonna be a great picnic, you'll see!" 

Will could only smile and call back, "Never said it wasn't gonna be." 

An hour later, they were on their way to the riverside of Thames. Tom carried a bag filled with a container of scones they had made that afternoon along with a bottle of cheap wine. Money was a bit tight and their biggest concern clearly wasn't the quality of wine they chose for a date, but it was the thought that counts. 

The marketplace was crowded as it always was on Saturday evenings. The sky was a golden-hue, the sun barely going down and everything was perfect and going along just as planned. Rather, it would be if Will didn't feel like he was dying. He just wanted to hold Tom's hand through the crowd, he needed something to ground him but he couldn't do that. Two men weren't allowed to hold hands in public purely because it would be unsafe for them. 

The marketplace was lively and bustling and while it was okay at first, every time Will brushed shoulders with a stranger it sent his brain into a frenzy. It was okay, he told himself, but everything got so much louder when yet another child ran into him. Not on purpose, of course, only because it was busy. 

Tom looked behind himself to check on Will who looked much paler before. "You doin' okay?" 

Will nodded, "Yeah." 

It wasn't true, obviously, but they had planned this all week. Will couldn't abandon something so important to them over the fact that he got a bit overwhelmed in a crowd- he couldn't do that to Tom. Every time he bumped into someone it made him feel infinitely worse than he did before, he knew what was building and he knew that he was pushing his limits. 

It was fine, he told himself. 

It _was_ fine until he heard the sirens of a firetruck sounding from the other side of the street. His eyes caught the flashing lights and he heard the blaring of the sirens and suddenly it was too much, too _much,_ _too much and he needed to LEAVE please, please-_

Tom must've noticed because Tom always notices, sometimes even before Will does. Tom grabbed Will's arm- firmly, he noted- and dragged him away from the crowd. Towards home, he noticed. _Their home._

Will realized he must have shutdown on the way home as he couldn't recall anything on the way back except for the way Tom grasped his arm. If it were anyone else, Will would have flinched away and screamed but he knew it was Tom, he knew he was safe. 

The moment they walked through the flat door was when everything began to crumble. Will slid down the hallway wall, his whole body shaking as if he was caught in a blizzard. Tom shut the door behind them as softly as he could, knowing exactly what was happening. Myrtle was interested and tried to jump on Will before Tom softly said "Myrtle, no." and she began to back off. Instead, she lied next to Will and tried nuzzling one of his adjacent hands. 

On the other hand, Will's thoughts were running a mile a minute and he couldn't seem to remember how to breathe. He used a hand to ruffle his own hair, one of the habits Tom recognized to only be done in stressful situations. Against the floor, Will's foot tapped rapidly and he was about to bring a forearm up to his mouth to gnaw on, to ground himself, before Tom was able to intervene. 

Tom had seen this happen once of twice in the past and Will- though he found it embarrassing- ran though some things that would help. The first time it had happened Tom panicked, seeing the man you loved in pain and feeling helpless hurt more than anything in the world. 

Tom wrapped his arms around Will in the form of a very tight hug- not enough to make Will feel suffocated but just enough to ground him. 

There was about fifteen minutes of silence (except for the small 'click' noises Will made, another one of his habits that shone through when he was stressed) until he began to calm down and another ten of complete silence. Instead of being awkward, it was more serene- the calm after a storm. 

It was another minute until Will found his voice, "'m sorry."

Tom paused and nearly laughed at the absurdity of the apology, "What?" he loosened his grip to take a look at Will, "For what?"

Will refused to meet his eyes, "F'r ruinin' our plans tonight." 

Of course, Tom thought, just like him to think of someone else before himself. "You didn't ruin anything, dear." 

There was another welcomed silence. 

Tom had a sudden idea and he scrambled to his feet nearly as quickly as the idea came to him. "Okay, I know you're probably tired but I've got somethin' to cheer you up." 

Will didn't have time to process what Tom had said before he scrambled off to the living room. He watched Tom get to work, turning on a lamp and going through their shared collections of albums before selecting one and setting it on the record player. Myrtle hopped up on the sofa and decided to rest there as the music began to play. 

And there Tom stood in the middle of the living room. 

"Dance with me?" 

Will couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face and in an instant they were in each other's arms. 

_I was walking along,_

_Mindin' my_ _business,_

They didn't dance eloquently, but it didn't matter. 

_When out of the orange-colored sky,_

_Flash, bam, alakazam!_

_Wonderful you came by!_

In fact, it was the opposite. They were constantly stepping on each other's toes, but they couldn't care less. 

_I was hummin' a tune,_

_Drinkin' in sunshine,_

They couldn't stop the giggles that escaped them, the domesticity of the scene was a bit much for both of them to handle. 

_When out of that orange-colored view,_

_Flash, bam, alakazam!_

_I got a look at you!_

But even if they tried, they couldn't be happier. 

**Author's Note:**

> the song is "orange colored sky" by nat king cole! this is the first part in my modern au series that ill hopefully expand on. the rest likely wont be nearly as long since this is kinda the set-up of everything, but hope you enjoyed this nonetheless!! thanks for reading!!! :)  
> (yell at me on tumblr @svlad-gently if u want!)


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